The Mountain Lion and Me (2018) - full transcript

♪

Casey: This is my home in

montana, paradise valley,

On the outskirts of

yellowstone national park.

These are my neighbors: Bears,

Wolves, elk, deer.

It's a blend of homes,

ranches and wildlife.

I'm casey anderson,

a wildlife filmmaker.

The kill.

I live amongst this

amazing backdrop,

Filming all the creatures

that call this home.

But there's one

animal that's really

Captured my imagination.

Go see what we got.

An animal so secretive,

few ever get to see it,

The mountain lion.

And on one snowy night

in the middle of winter,

A female decided

to pay me a visit.

One thing's for

sure, she's here.

And I was captivated.

I entered her world.

I'll call it mama

mo's hunting cave.

I watched as this

incredible mother

Devoted her life to the

survival of her young.

Since that chance

encounter, I've been

In the tracks of

a mountain lion,

And she's been watching me.

♪

[owl hooting]

♪

It began one winter

night, when I'd been

Away filming in yellowstone.

So, kind of crazy,

I am in yellowstone

Looking for mountain

lions, and then I get home,

And there's fresh

mountain lion tracks

Crossing my bridge.

He came right here.

Some people would

be worried out here

Walking around at midnight

looking for mountain lions.

Come home,

And guess what?

That night was the

beginning of my relationship

With a lion I would

come to call mama mo.

Look here.

So I've got these

tracks, brand new,

In my driveway, walking

right across my bridge.

This cat was just

in my back yard.

At that point, it's

like, is this just

The cat passing through.

Nonetheless, excited

because there's fresh

Mountain lion tracks in my yard.

My house is in paradise

valley, montana,

Just on the northern border

of yellowstone national park.

I'm surrounded by perfect

mountain lion habitat,

But I've never had one walking

through my yard before.

And this cat, which

I think is a female,

Based on the size of the tracks,

Literally looked in my window

and walked down my steps.

♪

She went on that way.

I'm gonna continue

to follow her.

One thing's for

sure, she's here.

She lives in my backyard,

or I live in her backyard.

A mountain lion is

one of the hardest

Animals to film or

even get your eyes on,

And to have one

literally come to your

Doorstep and say,

"hey, here I am"

As a wildlife filmmaker, it's

really a dream come true.

So I began to track this cat.

It was winter.

There was snow on the ground,

And every morning, I

could see her tracks

And follow where they went.

Oh yeah, right here.

Going right over here

by the wood pile,

Through the barbed wire fence.

Still going.

Through the junipers here.

A lot of work.

Near the edge of my property

is an abandoned homestead,

A collection of

buildings and barns,

All intact, but nobody's

lived there for years.

Her tracks went past

my house and then down

To this old ranch.

It has always been this

mysterious place to me,

Where I always wondered

if wildlife were

Using these old buildings.

But then seeing the

mountain lion's tracks

Going down towards

it on a regular basis

And walking in there

for the first time,

I started looking around,

and it's unbelievable.

There are carcasses everywhere,

Like, remnants of her kills.

It looks like this

cat is killing things

Right here in this ghost town

And dragging the bodies

into these buildings.

And I knew that I

needed to figure out

Exactly what was happening here.

♪

Walking into the building

and seeing all these

Carcasses was like walking into

a serial killer's basement.

Almost every one

of these buildings

Has a dead mule deer like

mummified inside of it.

It makes perfect sense.

This is a perfect

hunting ground.

We see deer around these

buildings all the time.

They get inside these buildings

to get out of the wind.

And it's also perfect

to use these buildings

To sneak up on them.

But, when it's windy

out here, all this

Rattling and creaking

will actually disguise

Her footfall as

she's sneaking up.

♪

A mountain lion always

caches its kills

So they can come back

and feed on the carcass

For several days, so

I knew, at that point,

She was going to come back.

And I wanted to be there.

♪

So I set up my camera

traps and waited.

[sighs] it's gonna

be a long night.

I'm gonna find out

who this cat is,

But then you start to forget.

What am I doing?

I'm putting a blind

in an old building,

And I'm gonna sit here

all night with a cat

That's killing mule

deer regularly?

I'm gonna sit here by

myself in the dark?

You know, as the sun

goes down, it starts

To seem more like

a haunted house

Rather than an old,

cool ghost ranch.

I'm just gonna go quiet mode,

Just sit here and wait.

Could be two minutes,

could be never. [laughs]

Could be hours,

just a waiting game.

♪

And there she was,

An adult, female mountain lion.

And this big,

beautiful female cat,

She's the one that's

been walking in my yard.

She's the one that's

killing all these deer

At this ghost ranch.

And my heart is pounding.

Most mountain lion's,

when they make a kill,

Are gonna hide it in the

bushes or cover it up somehow,

So the scavengers

don't steal it.

But this cat's hiding her kills

In these buildings instead.

Mountain lions are

amazing at adapting

To living next to humans.

It's not just pure wilderness

around here anymore.

There are people and farms,

And she's found a way to

use that to her advantage.

I can't even think

of a better night.

I don't care how creepy it is.

It's completely worth the wait.

Snow is a blessing.

It means I can track

her and see where she

Goes after she

leaves the homestead.

These cats are invisible,

But even invisible animals

will leave a footprint.

And what I soon discover

is that this female

Is walking through my

backyard on a regular basis.

Here I go again.

Female, she came through

my yard last night,

Under my deck, over

the bridge, by a lot

Of my camera traps,

and I just got a couple

Of little images.

So now, I know these tracks

are less than 24 hours.

She's definitely hunting, so

I'm just gonna stay on 'em.

Maybe she made a kill,

And I'll walk right into it.

But she is whoopin' my butt.

Talk about not having

to go to the gym.

Just follow a

mountain lion around.

It's amazing.

You learn a lot, though, by

just following the tracks.

♪

I know wildlife

biologists that have been

Tracking these cats

their entire career

And have only got glimpses

of this elusive animal.

These cats are like ghosts.

They don't want us to see them,

So to be able to

follow the tracks

Of a wild, uncollared

mountain lion

And have the chance to

set up my camera traps

And see her again,

that's amazing!

I'm on these tracks,

and I'm following them,

And they're zigging and

zagging through the bushes,

And then I come

around the corner,

And these magpies

are taking off.

I know right in front of

me, there's something there,

And it's probably a kill.

This looks like a drag

coming off the hill,

All these tracks,

nothing going that way.

The kill.

It's a fresh kill

of a mule deer.

And I literally can see

my house from right here.

So now the mad rush is on.

I've got to go get

all my cameras ready,

Get them back to this

kill before she returns.

Man, backyard mountain lion.

♪

That night, I happened to

put a camera really low,

Like almost aiming

straight up in the air,

Hoping to get maybe a

cat just like looking

Over down at the camera.

What I got was way

more than I thought

I was ever gonna get.

She walks in and just steps

right over the camera,

And right on her belly,

it was very obvious,

That she had been nursing,

freshly nursing, kittens.

So now it's like, oh my

gosh, we got this cat

On camera, this is

awesome, and she's got

Little kittens somewhere.

Just when you think this story's

Not gonna get any better, bingo,

we've got nursing kittens.

And it's like, let's

find those little guys.

Let's find this family.

Let's tell their story.

Casey: Watching a female

mountain lion feeding on a kill

Just up from my

house is amazing.

This mule deer that she's killed

Weighs probably

about 200 pounds,

Which is much more

than she does.

Mountain lions are

incredible athletes.

They can take down

prey twice their size.

But a kill like this will

only feed her for a few days,

Then she'll have to kill again.

And she's eating not

just for herself,

But for her kittens as well.

I don't know how many she has

Or how old they are, but

I'm determined to find out.

She's caching the carcass

in the bushes for later,

So I'm hoping she's going

to keep coming back,

And so will I.

There's still quite a bit left,

The head, part of

the head on that one.

We might get one more

night out of this.

So now I'm basically

taking my car batteries,

Inverting it into ac

power so I can run

Some of these lights.

I'll slip out of here

and go see what we got.

The next night, she

doesn't disappoint.

But this time, she's not alone.

Three kittens.

♪

Based on their size,

I'm guessing the kittens

Are about 2 1/2 months old.

But most mountain lion cubs

won't survive their first year.

To have all these three

survive the winter

Would be against the odds.

This mother's got her

work cut out for her,

And she'll keep those

kittens close to her.

When they're mothers,

they only have a range

Of about 10 square miles.

So for me, this is

a great opportunity

To watch these kittens grow.

When she finally decided

to bring the kittens

To the kill for the

very first time,

It was really obvious,

from the start,

That they each had their

own little personalities.

You could see right

away that there was

Like this big mean

one, and we started

Calling it meany.

[kitten growling]

Eenie was the little one.

She was always kind

of the adventurer,

Off on her own,

doing her own thing.

Then we started going

eenie, meenie, miney,

And that fit pretty

good, actually.

Because there was

miney, who was always

The possessive one.

Everything was mine,

mine, mine, mine, mine,

And then mama mo

just fit, you know?

Eenie, meenie,

miney and mama mo.

That's how I named her mama mo.

♪

This place is harsh.

The winds can blow

60 miles an hour,

And temperatures can drop

down to 50 below zero.

Blizzards are unpredictable,

And, in a matter of

minutes, you can be lost

In a complete white out.

Not the best conditions

to have three kittens.

But as I begin to track mama mo,

I quickly realize that she

was an extraordinary mother.

Most of the animals in

this part of the country

Have evolved to sync

the birth of their

Young with warmer weather

and spring conditions.

While the winter

setting might seem

Like a death sentence

for these little kittens,

It's really the opposite.

The frigid cold

actually drives the prey

From the high country down

into the valley below.

And that means mama mo

doesn't have to go very far.

It's like having a buffet

right at her front door.

So winter is when a

mountain lion thrives.

But for me to try to

follow her and film her,

Man, it gets cold.

There is one advantage for

it being so cold, though.

Her warm body really sticks out

When I'm using thermal

imaging technology.

With this technology, the

invisible becomes trackable.

So these are military

grade thermal binoculars

That sense heat, so

basically, what you're

Seeing here is just

a heat gradient.

It'd look exactly the

same day or night.

You're not seeing,

really, visible light.

You're seeing that the

tree's a little bit

Warmer than the ground, so

white is hotter than black.

We're looking for bright white.

That would be something

giving off body heat.

And then we watch it,

and see how it moves,

See what the general

shape of it is,

And then we can kind of

identify what species it is.

This is a game changer,

'cause day or night,

We can come out with

this and find animals.

The fact that she does

most of her moving around

Either in low light or

no light situations,

This is the only way

that we can find her.

♪

Across the valley,

up the mountain,

There's just a

little white light,

The faintest sign of body heat.

And when I check it out

a little bit closer,

Bingo, there she is.

Finding that cave was huge.

I mean, it gave me such

an incredible opportunity

To set up cameras and

film them up close,

Without being intrusive.

It was obvious she had

several denning areas

And caves that she would go to,

But then, it was really

apparent that there

Was this one cave.

This one cave I called

the kitty condo.

That's kind of her main cave.

That's really her home base.

She uses the other caves,

but this one's her favorite

You can tell.

I've gone years and

traveled thousands of miles

Looking for mountain

lions, and I've barely ever

Seen one, and now, I'm

filming this family every day.

Mama mo has about a

half dozen of these dens

Scattered across the mountain.

I began to start

learning her patterns.

Depending on where

she's hunting,

And where the prey is,

she stashes the kittens

In a den, and then

heads off to get dinner.

Only once she's made

a kill and cached it

Will she bring the

kittens back to eat.

♪

When the opportunity comes,

you just jump all over it.

You gotta do everything you can,

Do your best, not

sleep most of the time,

Just thinking that

it might be the last

Time you get a chance

to look at these guys.

And the way the world's

changing, it might be.

This might be the

last time that we get

To film a mountain lion family.

It might be the last

time anybody gets to.

So the responsibility

for us as story tellers

Trying to protect

these wonderful animals

That no one knows

anything about, it's now.

Casey: When I first started

following mama mo

And the kittens, I'd never

done anything like this before,

At least not with

a mountain lion.

I'd set up camera traps

on bears and wolves,

But not a mountain lion,

And I really worried

that I would impact

This little family somehow.

But she was confident,

and she seemed

Totally unphased by it.

When filming bears and

wolves and other canines,

I'd hide the cameras

out of the way.

I'd do everything I

could to conceal them.

With mama mo, I learned

it doesn't matter.

I found out there's

really no way I'm

Gonna hide cameras from

this super-keen animal.

As long as she can

look at them and go,

It's a camera, I don't care,

She just goes in

and does her thing.

And she made it easy for me.

She was a proficient hunter.

She's making a

kill, without fail,

Every two to three days.

When I set up on the

kills, I really never

Know what I'm gonna get.

I just hope

everything's gonna work.

That's the boy there.

Look at him.

It's given me a

glimpse into the life

Of a mountain lion

family, which is rarely

Ever filmed, and I'm

developing an understanding

Of an animal that is much

more than a predator.

There's also this

soft side to them,

Where they're just a mother

taking care of their babies.

This is the little

moments that I love.

They like to have fun and play.

For a mother to provide

food, it's very important,

But here's the other thing

that this mother provides,

Snuggling, loving, cleaning.

When you think about

a mountain lion,

You don't think about

this side of their life,

And this is what they're

doing most of the time.

[laughs] sillies.

Sitting here at

their dinner table

Allows me to see each

of their personalities

Really come through.

Like a good mother,

mama mo keeps

The family clean and fed.

And even looks after

herself a little bit.

Eenie is a miniature

version of mama mo,

Independent, adventurous,

full of courage.

And miney sticks closer to mom,

Possessive of mama

mo's attention.

He's the biggest and

only male of the kittens

But a complete mama's boy.

And meenie's name

continues to fit perfectly.

[kitten growling]

She lashes out at her

siblings and even mama.

She's a fiesty kitten.

♪

Paradise valley has

everything that mama mo

And the kittens need.

The snow's not very

deep here in the winter,

And the elk and the deer

migrate here predictably.

You would think that

all the other predators

Would follow, like the

wolves and the bears,

But there are also

people living here,

And that's what keeps

the other predators away.

Mama mo's made a decision

to live amongst the people,

Because if she can

do that successfully,

She can have

paradise to herself.

But while food is

here for the taking,

The pursuit of prey can

lead her into harms way.

And sometimes, mama

mo goes hunting

In an area I call

the death zone.

This is where humans can

legally hunt mountain lions,

And they often use dogs

to help track them.

It's illegal to hunt

a mother mountain lion

With kittens, but

they're hardly ever

With her right now.

So a hunter would never know.

I heard the dogs

barking from the house.

The way the dogs were barking,

They had something in a tree.

And the dogs stopped barking,

So I got out and listened,

'cause that usually means

a, either the cat's dead,

Or b, the cat's

running, and the dogs

Are trying to run to keep up.

Now, the fact that

she's potentially moving

From her sanctuary

over into an area that

Could be dangerous for

her and her kittens,

That creates worry.

And, sure enough, I'm

coming up the hill,

I stop the truck, and

here comes mama mo

Running really fast

right at me and goes

Up into these cliffs.

And right behind her,

several hound dogs.

[dogs barking]

They get her out in the rocks,

And they start to surround her.

I know what's coming next.

Behind the hounds it's

gonna be the hunters,

And I'm right there.

I've gotta do something.

And I just went up

to them and said,

"hey, this is mama mo.

"she's got kittens.

"this is my life.

"this is what I've been

waiting for all my life."

And, you know,

fortunately, they grabbed

Their dogs and left.

What if I would've not

walked out the door

In that moment,

heard those dogs.

That'd been the end of

the story right there.

Little did I know, the

story was about to get

A lot more interesting.

I see in the snow, the

mountain lion tracks

Have crossed the road.

In fact, when I look,

there's two sets.

Look here, mountain

lion tracks with mud,

A couple sets, interesting.

Now, that looks like,

that's our female.

But look at this track.

That's not our female.

That's a big tom track, I think.

What looks like mama

mo's and a big male

Walking right with her.

See, here we go.

There's a good comparative.

That's a big track, and I

don't know who this guy is.

The hounds have probably

got this big guy

Up a tree, and as I get closer,

This cat jumps out of the tree.

♪

Amazing.

And, at that point,

it's obvious.

It's this big male.

That could be bad news

for mama and the kittens.

Eventually, mama mo's

tracks lead over the road

And back home to the kittens,

But now, there's this other

cat lurking around her.

There are a lot of risks

for a mother mountain lion

And her kittens, but the

biggest threat to her

Is actually another

mountain lion.

And now, that threat, it's real.

This other cat is a male,

and it's hanging out

At mama mo's den.

No matter what, I

have to figure out

Who this other cat is,

like, what is his intention?

There's only one

way to find out,

And that's to get a closer look.

♪

While the cat is

still in the cave,

I set up a camera trap

right outside the entrance.

Okay, okay, I'm outta here.

I've got a new cat on my hands.

I've got to find out

what he's doing here

In paradise valley.

Casey: I haven't seen any

sign of mama mo

Or the kittens for several days.

Meanwhile, a male has taken

over one of her caves,

So I don't know if

this is a rogue male,

Who could potentially

kill these kittens

If they're not his,

or if he's actually

The father of eenie,

meenie and miney.

I can only know what's

going on by getting

A camera trap up inside the den.

But the risk of upsetting this

feisty guy is really high.

So I wait until I know

he's left the cave,

And then, I take my chance.

I gotta hurry,

set up this camera

And get outta here.

The last thing I want is

to be wedged in this hole

And that big male

to come back home.

Let's get this set.

This looks like a real

brute of a mountain lion.

He's only got half of a tail,

Which probably happened

in one of his brawls.

Male mountain lions

that fight the most

Actually live the longest.

They're wanderers, with

ranges up to 100 miles.

These big guys roam

across the landscape

Looking for food and

looking for mates.

His presence has kept

mama mo and the kittens

Away from their den

for several days.

I'm excited to see this guy,

But when he finally

decides to leave the area,

I'm sure happy to see him go.

But mama mo hasn't

got the message.

She's still missing.

And with each day that passes,

her trail grows colder.

All I can do is keep

searching the valley

And keep checking

my camera traps,

Hoping to get back in

the tracks of mama mo.

Just like an obsession

or an addiction,

You know, if I could

spend every second

Of every day following

this cat around,

And I could survive that way,

I would do it.

But the horrible days are

the ones when she disappears,

When you think she's gonna

be there, and she's gone.

And you don't know,

And you think about what

could have happened.

Is she alive?

Has the story ended?

I know that day

is going to come.

I'm just not ready for it yet.

I guess I'm in denial.

Isn't that one of the

indications of this addiction?

See, the hunt goes on.

It's been over a

week since I've seen

That big tom cat, and

that's a good indication

That he's moved on.

But I haven't seen

mama mo, either,

And I'm starting to get worried.

With both of them

gone, I have the chance

To get a much closer

look inside her main den.

Crawling in the front

door of the home

Of a mountain lion

is not something that

You get to do every day.

Wow.

So this is the cave

mama mo basically stays

Throughout the day

before she goes on a hunt

Down by my house.

I've watched her laying

up here in the sun,

Just like a cat in

the window sill,

Amazing view, and she just

waits until darkness comes.

She's got the graveyard shift.

She hunts on down

through my yard

And down to the ghost ranch.

Just about the time

I'm going to bed,

She's going to work.

I'll call it mama

mo's hunting cave.

This could be really warm,

even in the dead of winter.

Well, I'm gonna

set a camera trap,

And, hopefully,

she'll come back,

And we'll get her on film.

The search continues.

Still looking for mama mo.

Fortunately, there

are a few animals

Around here who can help me.

[bird screeching]

Magpies are my, they're

my eyes in the sky.

One of the most beautiful birds,

Super intelligent, corvids.

Magpies can see the

littlest drop of blood.

They have no sense of smell.

It's totally by sight,

flying over the top.

Most of the year, when

we're looking for bears

And mountain lions

and wolves, it's often

The magpie that

points them out to us.

And they're telling

a story all the time.

And over the years, we've

just learned to listen

And understand it,

and it's just amazing.

The birds are always

telling you something.

This time, they're

telling me mama mo's back,

Hunting in paradise valley.

And with the next snowfall,

I'm back on her trail.

There's nothing that

makes me more happy

Than seeing this

mountain lion's tracks.

'cause at the end of the tracks,

There's always

something awesome.

She doesn't have any

kittens with her,

So she must be going

back to get the kittens

To feed tonight.

So she must have

stashed 'em last night,

Went on a hunt solo.

And if you put her

track in a lineup

With 10 other mountain

lions, I've followed

This little lady

so much that I know

That I could pick her

track out of a lineup

Of 10 different cats.

They've very distinctive.

She's got this inside

toe seems a little bit

Longer, just the way she steps.

The story continues.

♪

Spring has sprung

in paradise valley.

It's amazing to watch

these kittens grow.

Their personalities

are really showing.

Meenie is constantly

stalking and pouncing

On her siblings, and

even tackling mama mo.

That mean streak of

hers will probably

Be her best ammunition

when she finally

Moves out on her own.

Miney is still the biggest

kitten, but he's careful.

He's kind of like

the mama's boy.

Mama mo is still his protector.

He's always right

by mama's side.

Hopefully, he'll find

that male fighting spirit,

Because that's the only way

he'll make it on his own.

And then there's eenie, a

bit smaller than the others,

She's full of spirit.

She's just like mama mo.

She's an adventurer.

She'll jump up on any big ledge.

She'll go out on her own

without even looking back.

She really reminds

me of mama mo,

Bold, confident,

a perfect example

Of a fearless,

female mountain lion.

The family is thriving, but

spring is always a challenge.

This is when bears

emerge from hibernation,

And the deer and elk are

starting to spread out

Across much bigger areas.

The kittens are now the size

Where they're learning

to hunt and stalk,

But with the prey dispersed,

the hard time is right now.

Every moment this

cat is out here,

There's always this constant

struggle for survival.

There's so many things

that we probably don't

See that she's dealing

with all the time,

And to get these three

kittens to the point

That they are now is an

amazing feat that she's done.

It's March, and eenie,

meenie and miney

Have turned into rambunctious

five-month-old kittens.

The kittens are at

that age now where

She's taken them through

some pretty gnarly

Terrain and climbing

down to the cliffs.

She's kind of a tough-love mom,

Where she'll do what

she can do physically,

Like climbing down

through the rocks,

And let them figure it out.

They can either try to

follow her footsteps

Or figure the way around

to keep up with her,

But she doesn't stop and

wait for them very much.

♪

One evening, I'm watching

them leave the den

And head out to hunt.

The kittens were following

her on an adventure.

Mama took a big jump

down this cliff face,

I'd say 30-40 feet.

Meenie and miney decided

they're not gonna

Make that jump, so

they went around.

And eenie kind of looks

and gets to the point

Where decides to try

to go mom's route,

Makes a bad step and

falls off this cliff

Behind a tree and

just disappears.

It didn't look good.

I knew that was gonna

be a bad landing.

And I didn't even

know if she was gonna

Come out from behind that tree.

And sure enough, out

comes eenie alive,

But something was wrong.

♪

Casey: The injury to eenie

has me really worried.

She can't make it

back to the den

And is staying

down in the valley,

Where she's

incredibly vulnerable.

There's no way she can

climb up to the cave,

So mama mo has to

leave her behind

While she takes the other

two back up to the butte.

Later that night, mama mo,

meenie and miney share a deer.

While eenie, all alone,

unable to climb the hill,

Goes without the

much-needed meal.

Over the coming days,

eenie's condition gets worse.

She's not limping.

She just looks

really skinny still.

You can see the hip

bones sticking out here.

You can see her rib

cage really defined,

Her shoulder bone

sticking up here.

So she doesn't have

any fat on her.

It really is, it's

tough to watch.

Then eenie disappears.

I watch mama mo looking

for eenie for over a week.

She refuses to give up

on her injured kitten.

There's that motherly

instinct kicking in.

She's always doing her best.

She's doing her best to

try to find that kitten,

And her instincts are good.

If she's come down

here and called

And looked and sniffed around.

She hasn't given

up on that kitten.

She'll look for it until there's

No kitten to look for.

♪

Eventually, she finds her,

hiding in a small bush.

Once again, mama

mo, very determined,

Attempts to lead eenie

back up the butte.

Mom's trying to keep her going,

Being patient, but also

just keeping that distance

And moving, trying to

provoke it to keep moving.

The little kitten doesn't

have much energy left,

And I know mama

doesn't have a kill.

So what mama's got to

do is get that kitten

Somewhere safe,

make another kill

And find a way to get that

kitten to that food source.

That's the only chance

this cat's got to live.

Since those kittens were born,

Since the first time

I've ever seen them,

I've never seen her turn

back for her kittens.

That's just not the

way of a mountain lion.

The fact that she continues

to turn around and wait

Shows her concern

and shows that she's

Really trying hard

to get that kitten

To come up the hill.

Days and then weeks

go by and, somehow,

Eenie is still alive.

But she's progressively

gotten worse.

She never made it

back up to the den.

So mama mo has been stashing

eenie right by the kills

To conserve what energy

the little kitten has left.

♪

Meanwhile, meenie and

miney are thriving.

They're growing

stronger every day.

It's such a stark difference

between how they look

And how sick and skinny

their sister eenie is.

Relentlessly, mama mo

continues to return.

She refuses to abandon

her little kitten,

But the odds don't look good.

Super skinny,

She looks pretty bad.

It's been five weeks

since the accident,

And mama mo is out

searching for eenie.

Ugh, it's,

There's an element of

sadness just the way

She's moving around.

She moved the same way with

the same sort of purpose

Down tonight, calling,

looking, sniffing.

It seemed like she was

searching for the sick kitten,

And, now, she's

returning to the cliffs,

Up to the bedding area

without a kitten in tow.

It's really this

sense that she's gone

Looking for the kitten

and just not finding it.

There's some level of feeling

tonight that maybe

That kitten's not

around anymore.

There's definitely

no pep in that step.

Not looking back.

She knows there's no

one following her.

And tonight mama mo's

having a bad night.

When a mountain

lion goes to die,

They'll find a hole

or go under a bush,

Just like where

they cache a kill,

Somewhere where no one,

Not even a scavenger,

will ever find them.

♪

Mama mo has lost a cub.

But in nature, the

cycle continues.

There's no looking back.

Mama mo still has two

healthy, strong kittens

That are now eight months old.

That's a great survival

rate for a mountain lion.

She's done her job well.

With the onset of

summer, mama mo will take

The kittens to higher ground,

Following the elk and deer.

They'll stay with her

for another few months.

She'll continue to

teach them how to stalk,

To hunt, what dangers

to be wary of.

And then, when they're

about a year and a half old,

Mama will know her

work is finished,

And she'll send

them on their way.

Hopefully, next winter,

she'll come home again

To paradise valley and

walk across my bridge.

For now, it's time to give

mama mo her secret life back

And let her disappear

into the hills,

To let her be

invisible once again.

♪